TOPGUN: The Legacy: The Complete History of TOPGUN and Its Impact on Tactical Aviation

(Hardback)

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The history of air combat has seen one recurring theme - new tactics are learned in battle, forgotten or discarded when battle concludes, and relearned at great cost during the next war. This cycle continued into the 1960s, when America was drawn into the Vietnam War. Despite having a skill and equipment advantage, US Navy aircrews were faring poorly against North Vietnamese fighters. Air combat lessons learned during prior wars, and since forgotten or deemed inapplicable due to advances in technology, were once again relevant. TOPGUN, the Navy's Fighter Weapons School, was established in 1968 to teach Navy aircrews the core air combat tactics, to train others in those tactics, and to ensure that naval aviation "never again" forgot its lessons learned. TOPGUN: The Legacy provides a unique, detailed, and never-before-told history of the Navy Fighter Weapons School. Based on over 450 interviews with graduates, instructors, and commanding officers, and thousands of pages of archival documents, this definitive study covers the early history of air combat tactical development, the school's founding in 1968, and its progression throughout the decades to the present day. TOPGUN's programs, significant events that shaped the school, and its unique culture have made it a center of excellence and the leading fighter weapons school worldwide. AUTHOR: Brad Elward is a military aviation writer and a retired appellate attorney. He has written 14 books and dozens of articles for World Air Power Journal, Combat Aircraft, The Hook, and International Air Power Review. He was granted unprecedented access to TOPGUN for the research and writing of this book. SELLING POINTS: . The definitive look at the 50-year history of the Navy Fighter Weapons School . Author Brad Elward was granted unprecedented access to TOPGUN for the research and writing of this book . Elward conducted 450 interviews with graduates, instructors, and commanding officers 95 colour and b/w illustrations

Reviews

Unequivocally the most thorough and authoritative account of the United States Navy Fighter Weapon School (TOPGUN) from its inception in 1968 until today. Equally impressive is how author Brad Elward superbly delves into the infancy of fighter aircraft dogfighting more than half a century before TOPGUN was established. He skillfully leads the reader through decades of developments, innovations, mistakes, and reckonings that defined the fascinating path of naval aviation through the 20th and 21st century. While some readers may be drawn to this epic book because of the storied airplanes and events that define this history, Mr. Elward does an even better job of sharing insights into the people who are unquestionably the crucial ingredient to making TOPGUN what it is today.
-- CAPT James Cruiser Christie, USN (ret), 38th Commander of TOPGUN, 2013-2014
TOPGUN The Legacy is an amazing read and the definitive history on the Navy Fighter Weapons School. Brad has spent countless hours interviewing members of the TOPGUN Staff to get a real feel for the organization and standards of excellence which have been maintained for over 50-years. Enjoy the read!
-- CAPT Dan Dix Dixon, USN (ret), Former NSAWC/N7 (TOPGUN CO), 2001-2003
The mission of a TOPGUN instructor is to be an expert in aerial combat, an instructor of instructors, and to perfect the art of teaching and learning. Brad Elward has written the definitive history of TOPGUN and how its instructors have created one of the worlds most revered institutions. TOPGUN The Legacy accurately captures the storied 50-year history of TOPGUN. Through thousands of hours of interviews with hundreds of TOPGUN instructors, Elward takes the reader through the origins and formation of the school and deep inside the evolution of air combat instruction for naval aviators TOPGUN The Legacy is the only book in existence which tells this monumental story. Elwards determination to precisely tell TOPGUNs story matches the same work ethic TOPGUN instructors have used for decades. Its a tribute to past TOPGUN instructors who never settled on being good enough, and whose efforts chronicled in this book will serve as a roadmap for future TOPGUN instructors to forge their own legacy.
-- LtCol Pat Kato Cooke, USMC (Ret.), TOPGUN Instructor & Training Officer (1989-93)
While the rest of the country has been mesmerized during these early summer weeks by the Hollywood version of Top Gun, Brad Elwards book captures the real TOPGUN training, aircraft and people that no movie really could. The tome provides all the real history and details about the real school and the pilots in a clear prose that resonates more soundly - and with a more enduring tone - than any fleeting cinematic high jinks.
-- Michael Fabey, author, "Crashback: The Power Clash Between the U.S. and China in the Pacific"

Author Bio

Brad Elward is a military aviation writer and a retired appellate attorney. He has written 14 books and dozens of articles for World Air Power Journal, Combat Aircraft, The Hook, and International Air Power Review. He was granted unprecedented access to TOPGUN for the research and writing of this book.